On August 12, 2016, the joint Taiwanese American Organizations sent a letter to the National Advisory Committee of the Census Bureau to request the Census Bureau that a check off box for “Taiwanese” be added under the race question (question six) on the Census 2020 form.

FAPA, who initiated this joint letter, started this campaign for a separate check off box under the race question as early as 1997, i.e. prior to Census 2000. Then FAPA President Wen-yen Chen appeared as a witness at a Congressional hearing before the Subcommittee on the Census in 1998. FAPA was informed at the time by the Census Bureau that a 1997 State Department memorandum stipulated that the “listing of “Taiwanese” as a race in a Census questionnaire would inevitably raise sensitive political questions…contrary to the U.S. Government policy and U.S. national interest.”

However, since the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service already maintains a separate quota for Taiwanese coming to the United States, the Taiwanese American Organizations feel that there should be no reason for the Census Bureau to continue this policy based on international political concerns.

In the letter, the joint Taiwanese American Organizations wrote: “Taiwanese Americans all over the country have expressed their concern and frustration to us about not knowing how many Taiwanese Americans there actually are in the U.S. today.”

There are severe discrepancies between Federal Agencies when counting the Taiwanese American population. According to the 2010 Census, the population of Taiwanese Americans was 230,382. However; according to 2014 Homeland Security data on Lawful Permanent Residents, the Taiwanese American population accumulated from 1950 to 2010 was 450,673.

In this letter, the Organizations added: “We are shocked that our Census, which is a purely domestic affair, would fall victim to international politics. No foreign country should dictate how our own Census Bureau counts its citizens. Taiwanese Americans today recognize that they are a separate ethnicity from Chinese Americans and we must honor and respect that. The Census Bureau can no longer ignore this.”

FAPA President Peter Chen reacts: “The current policy of the Census Bureau to exclude a Taiwanese check off box is solely a U.S. self-imposed restriction. We want and must have accurate data on how many Taiwanese Americans there are today. There should be no outside political influence preventing the United States to count us. We want to be counted!

Taiwanese Association of America President, Ming-hung Chow states: “This is not fair! Many smaller minorities can have their own check off box while the Taiwanese don’t. We, the Taiwanese, are not receiving the recognition we deserve in the international community, we should be rightfully recognized in America, the country we call home.”

Ms. Ditas Katague August 12, 2016

Chair, National Advisory Committee

U.S. Census Bureau

4600 Silver Hill Road

Washington, DC 20233

Dear Ms. Katague:

We, the joint Taiwanese American organizations, write to you today to formally request that the National Advisory Committee recommend to the U.S. Census Bureau that a separate check-off box for “Taiwanese” be added under the race question (question six) on the Census 2020 form.

We are pleased that over the years the Census form has evolved from excluding outsiders to including multiracialism. However, we Taiwanese Americans have not been included on the Census form thus far.

Taiwanese Americans all over the country have expressed their concern and frustration to us about not knowing how many Taiwanese Americans there actually are in the U.S. today. We campaign for a separate check-off box for “Taiwanese” because Taiwanese Americans want to be counted!

We have been campaigning for this since the mid-nineties. But we have thus far not been successful.

Why not?

Because the Census Bureau was told by our State Department in a 1997 memo that: “We believe that any listing of “Taiwanese” as a race in a Census questionnaire would inevitably raise sensitive political questions because it could be misinterpreted as official U.S. recognition of Taiwanese as a racial category chat is separate from Chinese. This would be contrary to U.S. Government policy and U.S. national interests. Therefore, our position is that it would be inappropriate to list “Taiwanese” as a category of race separate from Chinese in the Census questionnaire.”

We are shocked that our Census, which is a purely domestic affair, would fall victim to international politics. No foreign country should dictate how our own Census Bureau counts its citizens. Taiwanese Americans today recognize that they are a separate ethnicity from Chinese Americans and we must honor and respect that.

According to the 2010 Census, the population of Taiwanese Americans was 230,382k. However, according to our 2014 Homeland Security data on Lawful Permanent Residents, the Taiwanese American population accumulated from 1950 to 2010 was 450,673.

Clearly, there are severe discrepancies between Federal Agencies when counting the Taiwanese American population. The Census Bureau can no longer ignore this.

That is why we are requesting that the Census Bureau create a separate check off box for Taiwanese Americans on the 2020 Census form under the race question (question six,) so that we will finally have accurate data on how many Taiwanese Americans there are in the United States today.